WYC Daily Update: Team Australia ready for World Youth Championships Opening Day
By Matt Stevens
Australia is set to join 33 other nations as the 2026 IBF World Youth Championships officially gets underway in Kuching, Malaysia today.
A total of 133 boys and 85 girls will contest the Championships at Megalanes Sarawak Bowling Centre across the week-long event, with athletes representing the Asian, Oceania, European and Pan American zones.
| No | Country/Territory | Fed |
| ASIAN ZONE (ABF – 16) | ||
| 1 | CHINA | CHN |
| 2 | HONG KONG, CHINA | HKG |
| 3 | INDONESIA | INA |
| 4 | JAPAN | JPN |
| 5 | KOREA | KOR |
| 6 | KUWAIT | KUW |
| 7 | MACAU, CHINA | MAC |
| 8 | MALAYSIA | MAS |
| 9 | PHILIPPINES | PHI |
| 10 | QATAR | QAT |
| 11 | SINGAPORE | SGP |
| 12 | SAUDI ARABIA | KSA |
| 13 | THAILAND | THA |
| 14 | CHINESE TAIPEI | TPE |
| 15 | UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | UAE |
| 16 | VIETNAM | VIE |
| OCEANIA ZONE (OBF – 3) | ||
| 17 | AUSTRALIA | AUS |
| 18 | GUAM | GUM |
| 19 | NEW ZEALAND | NZL |
| EUROPEAN ZONE (ETBF – 11) | ||
| 20 | CZECHIA | CZE |
| 21 | FINLAND | FIN |
| 22 | ITALY | ITA |
| 23 | LITHUANIA | LTU |
| 24 | ROMANIA | ROM |
| 25 | RUSSIA | RUS |
| 26 | SCOTLAND | SCO |
| 27 | SPAIN | ESP |
| 28 | SWEDEN | SWE |
| 29 | SWITZERLAND | SUI |
| 30 | TÜRKIYE | TUR |
| AMERICAN ZONE (PAM-AM – 4) | ||
| 31 | CANADA | CAN |
| 32 | MEXICO | MEX |
| 33 | PERU | PER |
| 34 | UNITED STATES | USA |
Final preparations
The Australian team completed its final unofficial practice session on Friday, providing athletes with one last opportunity to become familiar with Megalanes Sarawak Bowling Centre ahead of competition.
Following the final unofficial practice on Friday, Australian team officials Cam Walsh (coach) and Janine Buckingham (manager) joined representatives from around the world at the Team Managers Meeting, where final championship arrangements were confirmed ahead of the competition.
International Bowling Federation (IBF) CEO Mike Seymour took delegations through the technical handbook at the meeting. Discussions covered the event schedule, lane draws, official practice procedures, athlete accreditation and ball registration requirements, while technical officials also outlined the lane condition to be used throughout the Championships.
- The final schedule has been released: We have updated our Australian time schedule accordingly on the hub under the schedule section.
- Results, Streaming, and Live Score links have been provided and updated on our hub in relevant sections.
The team then ended the day with a team dinner to discuss the next steps.
Today’s schedule in AEST
Team Australia will complete Official Practice today before joining the international field for the Opening Ceremony.
Both Aussie squads will be practicing in squad 2 for their respective gender. They will move every 10 minutes and practice for an hour. Following official practice, they will have 1 hour to finalise their choice for their 6-ball arsenal for submission to the IBF.
The Opening Ceremony will be broadcasted live on TV in Malaysia. You can find relevant links provided by the IBF for this below.
FB : https://www.facebook.com/tvs122/
10:00 – 11:00 AEST
Official Practice – Men Squad 1
12:00-13:00 AEST
Official Practice – Men Squad 2
Blake Walsh, Jackson Buckingham, Julian Dinham, Nicholas Rajkovic
Starting on lanes 7&8
14:00-15:00 AEST
Official Practice – Women Squad 1
16:00-17:00 AEST
Official Practice – Women Squad 2
Bella Westlake, Brianna Walsh, Emily Hart, Samantha Clifton
Starting on lanes 23 & 24
18:00-20:00 AEST
Opening Ceremony
What’s Next?
Competition begins on Sunday with the opening Singles qualifying squads, before the Women’s Singles qualifying continues Monday alongside the Singles Matchplay rounds.
We will have Australia’s Sunday squad allocations communicated in tomorrow’s Daily Update after our team officials finalise their choices.
Follow Team Australia
The Team Australia hub will be updated throughout the 2026 IBF World Youth Championships with daily news, results, schedule information and links to official event coverage.
Stay tuned as Australia’s best young bowlers prepare to represent the green and gold on the world stage in Kuching.
